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Supporting Research

There is a huge amount of research to support the benefits of music therapy.  Take a look at some of the articles and links in your area of interest below. 

Music and Brain Injury

  • Al-Janabi S, Nickels LA et al. Augmenting melodic intonation therapy with non–invasive brain stimulation to treat impaired left-hemisphere function: two case studies. Frontiers on Psychology doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00037 http://www.frontiersin.org/journal/10.3389/fpsyg. 2014.00037/abstract_

  • Evidence-based Review of stroke – www.ebrsr.com

  • Evidence based review of Moderate to Severe brain injury rehabilitation www.ebrabi.com

  • Music Therapy helps to improve movement in stroke patients. Wiley-Blackwell. (2010, July 7). Rhythm of life: Music shows potential in stroke rehabilitation. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 29, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100706081547.htm

 

Music and the Brain

  • Research has demonstrated that music with a strong beat can stimulate brainwaves to resonate in sync with the beat. Certain tempos bring sharper concentration and more alert thinking, and other tempos bring a calm, meditative state. Music can relax the mind and lower stress levels – creating more neural pathways, opening doors to new learning and experiences.

  • The brain goes through many processes helping us interpret the music that we hear. Our ears become attuned to certain styles and textures which are specifically intriguing to us. Levitin, Daniel J. This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession. New York: Dutton/Penguin, 2006.

  • There is a long held theory that the subconscious mind can recognize patterns within complex data and that we are hardwired to find simple patterns pleasurable. BioMed Central. “Creating simplicity: How music fools the ear.” ScienceDaily, 20. Jan. 2011 Web. 6 June 2012.

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Speech Rehabilitation and Language Development with Music Therapy

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Music Therapy and Mental Health

  • Working with two sample groups of 240 volunteers over 60 years old, where one group took part in weekly singing sessions over three months and the other didn’t, the research revealed an increase in the mental health component score on a validated health measure amongst the group of singers. It also revealed significantly reduced anxiety and depression scores. “Study into Benefits of Singing Proves Positive Impact on Health.” Study into Benefits of Singing Proves Positive Impact on Health. Accessed March 31, 2015

  • Music Therapy is associated with improvements in mood in persons with depression. Maratos A, Gold C, Wang X, Crawford M. Music therapy for depression. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD004517. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004517.pub2

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Music Therapy and Dementia

  • RetireGuide has produced a helpful guide on what music therapy is and how it can help seniors and Alzheimer's / Dementia / Palliative care patients. https://www.retireguide.com/retirement-life-leisure/healthy-aging/mental-wellness/music-therapy/

  • This Cochrane review addressed the evidence that treatments based on music improve the emotional well-being and quality of life of people with dementia. It also addresses that Music therapists are specially qualified to work with individuals or groups of people, using music to try to help meet their physical, psychological and social needs. Other professionals may also be trained to provide similar treatments. Providing people with dementia who are in institutional care with at least five sessions of a music-based therapeutic intervention reduces depressive symptoms and improves overall behavioural problems at the end of treatment.

  • This review was not able to identify reliable empirical evidence on which to justify the use of music therapy as a treatment for dementia. However, the evidence available suggests that music therapy may be beneficial in treating or managing dementia symptoms, and the predominant conclusion of this review is the highlighting of the need for better-designed studies of the intervention.

  • Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory-thinking skills and eventually limits even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear after age sixty. Estimates vary but experts suggest that as many as 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer’s disease.

  • A person’s ability to engage in music, such as drumming and singing, remains intact late into the disease process because these activities do not require cognitive functioning for feelings of achievement. “Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.” Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. Accessed March 31, 2015.

  • With dementia, repetition is even more important if Heath hopes to feel connected with Sarah and celebrate what they have had.  Hellen C., Padilla R. “Working with Elders Who Have Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.” New York : Psychology Press. 2011.

  • In 2009, researchers led by Lauren K. King of the Sun Life Financial Movement Disorders Research and Rehabilitation Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University, in Waterloo, Ontario, found that short-term use of vibroacoustic therapy with Parkinson’s disease patients led to improvements in symptoms, including less rigidity and better walking speed with bigger steps and reduced tremors (NeuroRehabilitation, December, 2009).

  • Dementia and Driving - www.wvpersonalinjury.com/dementia-and-driving/

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Music Connects People Together and Ignites Memories

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How Music Can Help Reduce Stress

  • There is evidence to indicate that work stress causes 10% of all strokes.  Suadicani P1, Andersen LL, Holtermann A, Mortensen OS, Gyntelberg F. Perceived psychological pressure at work, social class, and risk of stroke: a 30-year follow-up in Copenhagen male study. J Occup Environ Med. 2011 Dec;53(12):1388-95.

  • 3 out of 4 doctor’s visits are for stress-related ailments. Schnall, Peter L. Unhealthy Work: Causes, Consequences, Cures. Amityville, N.Y.: Baywood Pub., 2009.

  • Music can boost productivity by reducing stress. “The Power of Music To Reduce Stress.” Psych Central.com. Accessed March 31, 2015.

  • Music can focus us on a task by relaxing our mind and allowing our subconscious to manage some of the work. Cockerton, T., Moore, S., & Norman, D. (1997). “Cognitive test performance and background music.” Perceptual and Motor Skills 85 (1997): 1435 – 1438.

  • Allen K. et al. Normalization of hypertensive responses during ambulatory surgical stress by perioperative music. Psychosomatic Medicine, 63 (May/June 2001) 487 – 492. Print.

  • Waldon E. G. The effects of group music therapy on mood states and cohesiveness in adult oncology patients. Journal of Music Therapy 38 (Fall 2001) 212 – 238. Print. Collingwood, J. “The Power of Music To Reduce Stress.” Psych Central. 2007. Web. June 7, 2012. http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/the-power-of-music-to-reduce-stress. 

  • The research is clear that three deep breaths can reduce your fight or flight response. “Dr. Herbert Benson’s Relaxation Response.” Psychology Today. Accessed March 31, 2015.

  • Stress contributes to many human diseases. Carnegie Mellon University. “Stress Contributes To Range Of Chronic Diseases, Review Shows.” ScienceDaily Oct 9, 2007. Web. 3 Jun. 2012.

  • Studies show music can actually lower your heart rate and reduce stress for some people. Davis, W.B., & Thaut, M.H. “The influence of preferred relaxing music on measures of state anxiety, relaxation, and physiological responses.” Journal of Music Therapy 26 (1989): 168 – 187. Hyde IM, Scalapino W. The influence of music upon electro-cardiograms and blood pressure. Am J Physiol. 46 (1918): 35 – 38. Joseph CN, Porta C, Casucci G, Casiraghi N, Maffeis M, Rossi M, Bernardi L. Slow “Breathing improves arterial baroreflex sensitivity and decreases blood pressure in essential hypertension.” Hypertension. 46 (2005) 714 – 718. Bernardi P, Porta C, Sleight P. Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and respiratory changes induced by different types of music in musicians and non-musicians: the importance of silence. Heart. 92 (2006) 445 – 452.

  • Music can: Relax the mind and lower stress levels. Collingwood, Jayne. “The Power of Music To Reduce Stress.” Psych Central.com. Accessed April 1, 2015.

  • Nearly half of all workers suffer from moderate to severe stress while on the job, according to a recent survey. And 66 percent of employees report that they have difficulty focusing on tasks at work because of stress. Stress has been called the “health epidemic of the 21st century” by the World Health Organization and it costs American businesses up to $300 billion a year.

  • A survey of 2,500 employees by ComPsych, a provider of employee assistance programs (EAPs), highlights the problem. In addition to the challenges related to focus at work, employees also said that stress was responsible for errors and/or missed deadlines (21 percent), trouble getting along with co-workers/superiors (15.5 percent), missed days (14.9 percent) and lateness (14.4 percent). “Results By Industry.” March 29, 2012. Accessed April 1, 2015.

  • Slow, minor-key produce Alpha waves – these waves relax the brain, which can be useful and help your new. Millbower, L. (2000). Training with a beat: The teaching power of music. Sterling, VA: Stylus

  • Repetitive exposure to music can induce calmness. Another team of researchers out of Florida state under Dr. Kumar (a leading researcher in music for health took blood samples of 40 male seniors before 20 listening sessions and took another set of blood samples after the 20 sessions (4 weeks later).  The results were that 3 of the 4 main brain chemicals that affect our mental state including melatonin and epinephrine significantly rose – inducing a calmness.

  • Music can lower blood pressure. A study from the Journal of Hypertension to be published in 2010 found that daily sessions of voluntary music-guided slow breathing significantly reduced blood pressure. This is thought to occur by mood improvement and social ties. Modesti, P.A., et al., Psychological predictors of the antihypertensive effects of music-guided slow breathing. J Hypertens. 28(5): p. 1097-103.

  • Music Therapy benefits patients who suffer severe stress and anxiety associated with having and undergoing treatment for coronary heart disease – indicated by a decrease in blood pressure, heart rate, and levels of anxiety. Bradt J, Dileo C. Music for stress and anxiety reduction in coronary heart disease patients. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2009, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD006577 DOI: 0.1002/14651858.CD006577.pub2

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Child Development and Music

  • From as early as in our mother’s womb there is evidence that babies are aware of and respond to music and different sounds. Tan S., Pfordresher P., and Harre R. “Psychology of Music: From Sound of Significance.” New York: Psychology Press, 2010

  • There is evidence to say that our musical preferences start forming before the age of two. Fagen, J., Prigot, J., Carroll, M., Pioli, L., Stein, A., & Franco, A. (1997). Auditory context and memory retrieval in young infants. Child Development 68 (1997): 1057 – 1066. Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., Levine, L. J., Wright, E. L., Dennis, W. R., & Newcomb, R. L. Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children’s spatial-temporal reasoning. Neurological Research 19 (1997): 2 – 8. Viadero, D. “Music on the Mind”. Education Week, April 8, 1998. Wallace, W. T. (1994). “Memory for music: Effect of melody on recall of text.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition 20 (1994) 1471 – 1485.

  • There is great evidence around the connection of stimuli being received in early childhood and brain growth. Society For Neuroscience. “New Studies Show Factors Responsible For Enhanced Response To Music.” ScienceDaily, 13 Nov. 2003. Web. 6 Jun. 2012. 

  • The brain undergoes rapid neural development during the first years of life and new neural networks are formed more rapidly than at any other time. Casey B.J., Tottenham N., Liston C., Durston S. “Imaging the developing brain: what have we learned about cognitive development?” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 9.3 (March 2005): 104 – 110.

  • According to a study published by the American Psychological Association, playing an instrument as a child keeps the mind sharper as we age. “The Relation Between Instrumental Musical Activity and Cognitive Aging,” Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, PhD, and Alicia MacKay, PhD, University of Kansas Medical Center; Neuropsychology, Vol. 25, No. 3

  • In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students (NELS:88, National Education Longitudinal Survey), researchers found that students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show “significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12.” This observation holds regardless of students’ socio-economic status, and differences in those who are involved with instrumental music vs. those who are not is more significant over time. Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga. “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts.” Los Angeles, CA: The Imagination Project at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, 1999.

  • Piano practice increases integrity of nerve fiber tracts. A 2005 study showed that practicing piano correlated with better organization of nerve fiber tracts. Especially in children, practicing the piano led to greater integrity of these tracts, even the pyramidal tract, which is a main tract that connects the brain with the spinal cord and is essential for movement.
    Bengtsson, S.L., et al., Extensive piano practicing has regionally specific effects on white matter development. Nat Neurosci, 2005. 8(9): p. 1148-50.

  • Music Therapy improves social interaction, non-verbal and verbal communicative skills, initiating behaviour, and social-emotional reciprocity in children with autism Geretsegger M, Elefant C, Mössler KA, Gold C. Music therapy for people with autism spectrum disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2014, Issue 6. Art. No.: CD004381. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004381.pub3

  • Music Therapy improves social adaptation, feelings of joy, and the quality of parent-child relationships. Geretsegger M, Elefant C, Mössler KA, Gold C. Music therapy for people with autism spectrum disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2014, Issue 6. Art. No.: CD004381. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004381.pub3

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The Benefits of Drumming

  • In the words of Arthur Hull: “The Community Drum Circle is a fun entry-level learning experience that is accessible to anyone who wants to participate. Drum Circle participants express themselves collectively by using a chorus of tuned drums, percussion, and vocals to create a song together while having a great time.

  • Group drumming alters neuroendocrine and immunologic measurements in the participants – this means a boost to your immune system. “Beating Stress — on the Drums.” WebMD. Accessed March 31, 2015.

  • Group drumming boosts cancer-killer cells in study. A study led by Barry Bittman found that one group drumming method increased Lymphokine-Activated Killer (LAK) which signaled a strengthening of the body’s immune system.  The advantage of drumming is that it’s inexpensive, portable and not time consuming.  It also enriches in other areas such as sociability, learning and mood improvement.

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